Vermont is in the middle of a severe housing shortage. Renters know it all too well: there are not enough apartments to go around, regardless of size or price.
Nowhere is that more evident than Burlington. The housing vacancy rate in the Queen City is .5%. A healthy vacancy rate is 3%. But Vermont’s Brownfields Revitalization Fund (BRF) is helping ease the pressure, one unit at a time.
Brownfields are contaminated sites. They are expensive to clean and remediation takes time, so developers often won’t even consider a brownfield for a project. Instead, they look to green spaces so they can start building sooner while these polluted tracts sit vacant, often overgrown eyesores not contributing to the tax base, let alone being used for housing.
BRF is a partnership between the Vermont Department of Economic Development (DED) and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) that helps turn these properties around. DED vets potential projects and distributes grants to clean them up. DEC oversees the remediation.
Since the program came online in October 2021, nearly $15 million dollars has gone to clean up more than 51 contaminated acres across Vermont. Fifteen of those 32 projects have created 468 units of new housing. Here’s a breakdown of where those units are:
- Newport: 3
- Winooski: 86 (2 projects)
- St. Albans: 72
- Barre: 1
- Colchester: 64
- Hartford: 2
- St. Johnsbury: 30
- Springfield: 29 (2 projects)
- Brattleboro: 19
- Rockingham: 27
- Burlington: 135 (3 projects)
One of those Burlington projects is CityWest on 157 South Champlain Street.
This .25 acre parcel is just 250 feet from Main Street, two doors down from local favorite eatery and coffee shop, August First.
The site was first developed in the late 1800s. At one time it was a blacksmith shop. It also hosted several auto repair businesses. The soil was contaminated on site as well from a former dry cleaner next door. As a result, it sat vacant for more than a decade. But when Nathan Dagesse of EIV Technical Services learned about the Brownfields Revitalization Fund, instead of dismissing the parcel at 157 South Champlain, he saw an opportunity.
“A lot of people might not realize how much support is available, how helpful you are,” said Dagesse about the program. “(I’m) Not sure we would be standing in front of a new building without the support.”
CityWest is six levels. The bottom two floors are parking with 35 spaces. The top four are home to 48 apartments including 11 two-bedrooms, 13 one-bedrooms, and 24 studio units. Twenty percent of them are categorized as affordable.
All units have heat pumps, stackable washer and dryer, and a view of Lake Champlain. The higher up you go, the better the view, and the higher the rent. Already more than half of the units have tenants. Developer John Light tells us they are mix of undergrads, young professionals, and a few seniors, too. Construction continues and workers are adding the finishing touches. Residents are expected to start moving in December 2023.
“Rarely are these urban sites clean,” mused Dagesse about developing in downtowns. But now 157 South Champlain is clean, thanks to the Brownfields Revitalization Fund.